Ford F150 - looking to buy a older f150

i am looking to spend a max of 4k on a 92-96 f150 what years should i avoid, what problems should i look for and what motor should i look for 300 inline 6 or 302 v8. my only request is it must be a auto becuase i am sick of shifting

The years really don’t matter all that much, so focus on the condition of the truck you are looking at. Common problems include weak front springs and bad ball joints causing abnormal front tire wear, power steering box leakage, alternator failure, fuel pumps and fuel pump relay failure, window wiper motor failure, power window and lock failure, ignition module failure, and torque converter and sensor failure on the automatic trannys that caused hard shifting. The 302 is a reliable motor, but is not really suited for a truck that will do any real work. They don’t make enough torque at the low end of the RPM range, which means that you have to rev the hell out of them to get any power. This means that an automatic transmission will be constantly shifting with the 302 to keep the engine in the power range. The 302 is also notorious for burning oil due to low friction rings and some other features that it has. Some are worse than others, depending on how well the truck was taken care of, so look for this when you are shopping for your truck and it has a 302. I personally like the 300 six-it has a long history of reliability due to it’s large number of main bearings, large oil capacity, low RPM range, and overall simple design. The 300 makes something like 270 Ft-lbs of torque at a low 2000 RPMs, which makes it perfect for most truck applications. The 300 will also run without oil, coolant, or lubrication of any kind, as a buddy of mine found out last summer….

Now that's "Built FORD Tough"!!

thanks alot for the information i do agree with you i would like to get the inline 6 the only thing is that the majority of the ones that i have seen come with sticks i guess i will just havta keep searching

Find yourself a 5.8

I would also have to agree with ljc about the 300 I6. Its a tank of a motor and I would definately say its Fords best built motor. They also last a very long time if taken care of.

They'res plenty around with an auto tranny. My brother bought a new one in 1989 which was a lariat which was totally loaded with all but over drive and it ran really well. He traded in it in 95 on a new flareside with 106k on it he was thinking it was about worn out hahahahahaha little did he know it was little more than broken in....